Infant care apparatus



Aug. 4, 1959 Filed July 25, 1956 G. B. PARAMORE INFANT CARE APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet v1 INVENTOR.

GRADY 5 PARAMUQ A T TOE/1M V Aug. 4, 1959 Filed July 25, 1956 G. B. PARAMORE INFANT CARE APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

GPADV 5 PAPA/W025 A T TO/PNE Y Aug. 4, 1959 G. B. PARAMORE 2,897,518

INFANT CARE APPARATUS Filed July 25, 19se 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. GRADY B. PARA/MORE I BY ATTOR/l/f V United States Fatent f 2,897,518 INFANT CARE APPARATUS Grady B. Paramore, Marietta, Ga. Application July 25, 1956, Serial No. 600,013

10 Claims. (Cl. 109) This invention relates to the apparatus for the care of infants and is particularly concerned with power apparatus for rocking, exercising and moving an infant in order to sooth and reduce tension and/or relieve cramps or gas pains and in general to lull the infant as in a manner to induce sleep.

Under many and various circumstances and conditions it is frequently desirable to provide bodily motion for an infant over extended periods of time. Not only is simple rocking motion desirable to induce sleep but tilting and gliding motions may frequently assist in relieving an infant from cramps and pains due to gas accumulations. In simple cases of undue tension relief of the infant may be achieved through the application of simple harmonic motions either vertical, horizontal or tilting. Heretofore, such motions have been induced manually as in a simple rocking chair or crib which not only requires the continuous presence and attention of the mother or nurse but such devices also require physical exertion to induce the desired motion. Manually applied motion is frequently erratic and spasmodic where, on the other hand, the more advantageous motion would be that of a continual repetitious motion of even peiiodicity and constant amplitude. Furthermore the types of motion which may conveniently be applied through the use of rocking conventional baby carriages, cribs or the like are limited primarily to a rocking motion or to a longitudinal gliding motion. It is usually diflicult if not impossible to apply a transverse reciprocation and/or to provide a vertical repetitious motion which in some instances may be desirable.

It is therefore among the primary objects of the present invention to provide a device of the character set forth in which motions may be provided in continuous repetition with constant amplitude of motion and even periodic application of such motion.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an infant support or receptacle which has power means for inducing motion thereof in order to avoid the necessity and labor coincident with manual motion applied by the mother, nurse or attendant.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a device of the character described by which various types of motions may be applied and in each instance the motions may be continuous and repetitious and may be applied over a long duration of time without fatigue to the operator.

More specifically it is an object of the present invention to provide an infant receptacle with power operated means for inducing a selective type of motion, either vertical, longitudinal or rocking as may be desired.

It is also among the objects of the present invention to provide a device of the character set forth which is simple, effective and efiicient and which is well designed to meet the demands of economic manufacture.

Numerous other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from a considera- 2,897,518 Patented Aug. 4, 1959 tion of the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one form of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of that form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the lines 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the lines 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a detailed section taken on the lines 66 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged side elevation illustrating in detail the drive mechanism.

In general terms that form of the invention here presented by way of illustration may be characterized as comprising an infant receiving body, carriage, crib or the like, supported on spring means with respect to which it may have a longitudinal sliding motion. The spring means in turn is pivotally mounted so that the body may have a rocking motion. Furthermore the body or carriage is mounted to be vertically reciprocated against the tension of its spring support in order to impart vertical reciprocation of the infant. The drive for imparting such motions is by way of a motor driven friction drive wheel suppoited for pivotal movement so that it may be selectively disposed in driving relation to any one of a plurality of driven wheels each of which is provided with crank arms for reciprocating the driving cables suitably attached for selectively imparting the desired motion above referred to.

Referring now more particularly to the structure presented by the drawings, the apparatus includes a conventional base 10 which may be conveniently mounted on wheels 11 so as. to facilitate the movement of the device to various locations as may be desired. From the base 10 fixed side panels 12 extend upwardly to enclose the drive mechanism and the body, crib or carriage. As indicated in Fig. 5, the side panels may be curved in wardly at their lower portion merely as a decorative means to enhance the general appearance of the device. At the approximate longitudinal center of the side panels 12 and spaced substantially downwardly from their upper edges there are provided brackets 13 which pivotally support through connections 14 opposed pairs of side leaf springs 15 which are arcuate or bowed at their central portion and which terminate in flat supporting plates 16 to which are fixed brackets 17 carrying transversely mounted rollers 18 and longitudinally mounted rollers 1?. This arrangement is such as to provide at each cornerof the device a spring supported roller 18 for the mounting of the infant support crib or carriage.

The infant support crib or carriage generally indicated by the numeral 26 is here shown as substantially a rectangular open topped chamber which may be of imperforate metallic structure and includes a bottom wall 21, side walls 22 and end walls 23. Should an imperforate structure be elected, the support may be used as a bath. The upper edge of the side walls 22 are turned outward-1y to define a horizontal supporting flange 24 which terminates in downwardly extending side skirts 27 which overlie the upper areas of the sides 12 of the base structure. As indicated in Fig. 3, the rollers 18 are mounted upon the flat terminal end plates 16 to support the carriage 20 for a limited longitudinal motion while the longitudinally mounted guide rollers 19 project inwardly and may be engaged by the side walls 22 of the carriage 20 whenthe carriage 20 is out of alignment. At the end walls 23 of the carriage, there are provided at the top edge longitudinally extending end flanges 38 which engage rollers 31 mounted on transversely extending spring urged end plates 32, the arrangement being such that as the carriage 20 is rocked, end plates 32 are reciprocated in equal and opposite directions, the carriage pivoting about the central mount{ ing of the spring 15.

For motivating the carriage in the various directions of movement herein referred to, there is provided a motor 40 having a frictional drive wheel 41 driving an enlarged driven wheel 42 upon the shaft 43 on which here is mounted a driving friction wheel 44. The motor 40 as well as the wheel 42 is pivotally mounted as at 45 by a pivoting standard 46. For selectively driving the individual motion transmitting means of the present invention a group of three friction wheels 47, 48 and 49 are secured in fixed bearings of a frame 50 and are so grouped that their peripheral edges may be engaged selectively by the driving wheel 44. As shown in Fig. 7, by broken lines, when the standard 46 is moved in to the left in counterclockwise direction, driving wheel 44 will engage and drive the wheel 47. In central vertical position, drive wheel 44 will engage the lower surface of the wheel 48 and drive the same, or when the standard is moved in clockwise direction the wheel 44 will engage and drive the wheel 49, it being understood that the motor 40, and the large drive wheel 42 rotated thereby, will move with the standard 46 to maintain constant driving relation regardless of the pivotal movement of the standard.

For imparting a uniform vertical reciprocation to the carriage 20 there is provided at the center of the bottom surface thereof a bracket 51 which is engaged by a cable or link 52 connected by a crank 53 to the center driven wheel 48. Thus the arrangement is such that when standard 46 is in vertical position as shown by the full line of Fig. 7 and motor 40 is energized to rotate wheel 42 which rotates therewith the driving wheel 44, this wheel 44 will engage the periphery of the wheel 48 thus turning the crank 53 and reciprocating the cable 52 connected with the bracket 51. By such connection the carriage will be uniformly reciprocated in a fixed path of travel and with uniform cycles of motion. During such reciprocation it will be understood that the ends 16 of the springs 15 will be periodically depressed as the carriage is pulled downwardly by the link 52 and in sequence the carriage will be re turned to permit a resumption of the normal configuration of the springs 15 as shown in Fig. 3.

For imparting a gliding longitudinal motion to the carriage, the standard 46 is pivoted in clockwise direction to cause the roller 44 to engage the wheel 49 which is provided with a crank 60 engaged by oppositely extending cables 61 and 62 which respectively pass under pulleys 63 and 64 mounted on standards 65 and 66 and therefrom over end pulleys 67 and 68 supported by brackets 67a and 68a to engage blocks 69 depending from the lower surface of the bottom of the carriage. Since it will be observed that in the rotation of the wheel 49 the cables 61 and 62 will be moved in equal and opposite directions, it will follow that the cables will exert successive reciprocations of the carriage longitudinally of the structure, such motion being uniform in amplitude and cyclicly repetitious at a uniform rate of speed as dictated by the motor 40.

For rocking the carriage and its supporting springs 15 about the pivot point of the bracket 13 the wheel 47 is provided with a crank 70 to which oppositely extending cables 71 and 72 are secured which cables extend under the pulleys 63 and 64 and from the pulleys 63 and 64 to blocks 73 and 74 respectively also depending downwardly from the bottom surface of the carriage. By this arrangement it will be seen that when the wheel 44 is engaged with the wheel 47 to rotate the same, the crank 70 will move the cables 71 and 72 equally and oppositely 4 nate tension by the cables 71 and 72 on the blocks 73 and 74 respectively to oscillate the carriage about the pivotal point of the bracket 13.

It should be noted here that cables 52, 61, 62, 71, 72 may be made of nylon or other stretchable material so that these cables will not interfere with the full operation of the carriage described above.

For pivotally adjusting the standard 46 to cause the wheel 44 to selectively engage the wheels 47, 48 or 49, a shaft 80 is provided which may be conveniently rotated by suitable crank wheel 81 the inner end of the shaft 80 being provided with an arm 82 engageable within an internally threaded companion member 84 carried by the standard 46 whereby rotation of the shaft will induce and such motion will be transmitted as vertical alterpivotal movement of the standard in such direction as may be desired.

In the operation of the device it will be understood that the normal position of the carriage as in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 is centrally located as to the fixed end walls extending between the sides 12 and enclosing the vertically mounted plates 32. The spring tension on the plates 32 as provided by the springs 91 urges plates 32 upwardly and aid in maintaining the carriage in horizontal level position as do the terminal ends 16 of the springs 15. Additional tension springs 92 fixed respectively between standards 65, 66 and blocks 73, 74 also aid in the horizontal centering of the carriage. Further, springs 93 fixed between brackets 67a, 68a and blocks 73, 74 aid in longitudinal centering of the carriage.

During vertical motion imparted through the cable 52 both of the springs 15 are flexed and the plates 32 are depressed against the tension of their springs 91. When the device is longitudinally moved in a gliding type of motion through actuation of the wheel 49, the carriage flanges 24 roll on the rollers 18 and springs 93 are alternately stretched and slackened to permit a uniform gliding motion in a longitudinal direction. When the wheel 47 is rotated, the opposite ends of the carriage are oppositely tilted and thus one of the ends 16 of the spring 15 is depressed while the other end 16 is raised. Upon termination of such motion or when the motion is reversed to depress the opposite end of the carriage the springs 92 with possibly some aid from springs 91 and 93 will restore the carriage toward its normal horizontal position.

In the construction of the present invention it will of course be understood that the invention is not limited or restricted to specific structural details here presented by way of illustration. For instance, it is obvious that the drive mechanism may be vastly altered to accomplish a like purpose with equivalent and difierent drive mechanisms. It will also be understood that the mounting of the carriage may be varied and the spring arrangements may take other equivalent forms. Thus it will be understood that the invention is not limited or confined to the specific structural details herein set forth and numerous changes, modifications and the full use of equivalents may be resorted to in the practice of the invention without departure from the spirit or scope thereof as outlined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character defined, an infant carriage, movable means supporting said carriage and motor means for moving said carriage, said motor means selectively providing rocking, gliding and vertical reciproca tion of said carriage, said motor means being selectively applicable for moving said carriage in any of said motions and including a pivotal mounting and frictionally engagable means for engagement with individual frictional carriage driving devices.

2. An infant care apparatus including an infant carriage, spring means supporting said carriage and motor means for moving said carriage with respect to said spring means, said motor means further being operable to move said carriage with said springs, said spring means being pivoted to move with said carriage and being compressible to permit movement of said carriage with respect thereto.

3. An infant care apparatus including an infant carriage, spring means supporting said carriage and motor means for moving said carriage with respect to said spring means, said motor means further being operable to move said carriage with said springs, said spring means being pivoted to move with said carriage and being compressible to permit movement of said carriage with respect thereto in both tilting and vertical reciprocation of said carriage.

4. The combination with an infant crib of pivotal spring means for supporting the same and motor means for moving said crib with respect to said spring means in vertical periodic motion and in pivotal movement with said springs.

5. The combination with an infant crib of pivotal spring means for supporting the same and motor means for moving said crib with respect to said spring means in vertical periodic motion and in pivotal movement with said springs as well as in longitudinal motion with respect to said springs.

6. The combination with an infant carriage of a driving means for imparting motion to said infant carriage, said driving means including a drive motor, a friction drive wheel operable by said motor, pivotal means mounting said motor and drive wheel, a plurality of frictional driven wheels selectively engagable by said drive wheel, and individual motion transmitting means connected between each of said driven wheels and said infant carriage.

7. The combination with an infant carriage of a driving means for imparting motion to said infant carriage, said driving means including a drive motor, a friction drive wheel operable by said motor, pivotal means mounting said motor and drive wheel, a plurality of frictional driven Wheels selectively engagable by said drive wheel, and individual motion transmitting means connected between each of said driven wheels and said infant carriage, said motion transmitting means including cranks.

8. The combination with an infant carriage of a driving means for imparting motion to said infant carriage, said driving means including a drive motor, a friction drive Wheel operable by said motor, pivotal means mounting said motor and drive wheel, a plurality of frictional driven wheels selectively engagable by said drive wheel, and individual motion transmitting means connected between each of said driven wheels and said infant carriage, said motion transmitting means including cranks and stretchable flexible cables.

9. The combination with an infant carriage of a driving means for imparting motion to said infant carriage, said driving means including a drive motor, a friction drive Wheel operable by said motor, pivotal means mounting said motor and drive wheel, a plurality of frictional driven Wheels selectively engagable by said drive wheel, and individual motion transmitting means connected between each of said driven wheels and said infant carriage, said motion transmitting means including cranks and stretchable flexible cables connected in such manner as to provide for the tilting, gliding and vertical motion of said carriage.

10. Apparatus of the class described comprising a base, a pair of opposed bowed spring means pivotally mounted by their centers to said base and provided with upstanding ends, a carriage carried by the ends of said spring means, electro-mechanical means for actuating said carriage with respect to said base, said electro-mechanical means including means for longitudinally moving said carriage on said spring means, means for pivoting said carriage with respect to said base, and means for imparting vertical reciprocating motion to said carriage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 87,463 Brown Mar. 2, .1869 578,897 Newburg Mar. 16, 1897 856,580 Hantske June 11, 1907 910,888 Wilson Jan. 26, 1909 944,784 Hand Dec. 28, 1909 2,243,013 Morey May 20, 1941 2,311,542 Holme Feb. 16, 1943 2,409,942 Knapp Oct. 22, 1946 2,564,668 Borrelli Aug. 21, 1951 2,572,718 Gifford Oct. 23, 1951 2,602,339 Moen July 8, 1952 2,758,319 Fehrman Aug. 14, 1956 

